Various types of structures that are generally referred to as towers are in use on recreational and pleasure boats. The towers are typically fabricated from metal tubing or pipe. The towers form a structure over part of the deck surface of the boat. The tower is typically fastened to some part of the deck of the boat and extends upward from the deck surface. The towers are also known to those of ordinary skill in the art variously as arches, half towers, tuna towers, towers, hardtops, and hardtop support systems. The towers can be used to provide sunshade, shelter from the elements, mounting points for a variety of equipment for various purposes, and additional control stations.
The present invention is directed to a device for easily mounting, removing and replacing towers on the deck of almost any boat. In the prior methods and devices for attaching these structures to boat decks, the most common method is to utilize mating male and female fittings. Generally, in the prior methods, the female fitting is attached in some manner to the upper surface of the boat deck. The towers all have several legs that form the mounting points on the deck. In order to be able to place and withdraw the male component from the female component of the fitting, it is necessary for the female component of the fittings to all have the same directional orientation. One problem with creating the proper orientation is that the deck mounting surfaces on many boats is generally not flat but varies over its surface at some angle to the horizontal. Due to this variation in the deck surface, it is difficult to install the plurality of fittings with a uniform vertical orientation for the female fitting. Consequently, mounting and removing the towers can be difficult.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for mounting towers on boat decks that overcomes the problems described above. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mounting device that can be adjusted to provide a uniform vertical orientation for a female fitting so that a tower can be easily mounted, removed and reinstalled.
A device for mounting an above deck structure to a boat deck surface, wherein the above deck structure comprises a plurality of legs for mounting to the boat deck surface, comprising: a first mounting means comprising a top side and a bottom side wherein the bottom side is placed in contact with the boat deck surface; a second mounting means comprising a top side and a bottom side wherein the bottom side is placed in contact with the top side of the first mounting means and can slidingly rotate with respect to the bottom side of the first mounting means so that the top side of the second mounting means will be displaced through a range of angles with respect to a plane of the boat deck surface; a plurality of fittings adapted to receive the legs of the above deck structure and further adapted to receive the top side of second mounting means wherein the fitting can rotate relative to the top side of the second mounting means so that the fitting may be displaced through a range of angles with respect to a centerline of the boat; and means for rigidly attaching the first mounting means, the second mounting means and the fitting to the boat deck surface in a fixed position with respect to each other.